Eurozone

The eurozone is an economic and monetary union (EMU) of 17 European Union (EU) member states that have adopted the euro as their common currency. Introduced in 1999, it is one of the largest economic regions in the world and currently consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain. Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Sweden, and the United Kingdom are EU members but do not use the euro. The global financial crisis of the late-2000s forced the eurozone to grant emergency loans to its member states on the condition they established economic reforms.

The euro's survival hangs in the balance as worries about weakening fundamentals that have dogged private sector investors since the onset of the global financial crisis spread to reserve managers at official sovereign institutions.

Official data Friday painted a far from encouraging picture of the European economy, with unemployment running at record and “unacceptable” highs in the euro zone while inflation fell sharply, highlighting the weakness of consumer demand.

Who says the Germans do not have a sense of humour? To give the lie to that often-made claim, German state broadcaster ARD has made a satirical skit of the country's - and the world's - most watched TV programme, adapted to show the leaders of France and Germany in the starring roles.

Different geographical locations and even different political philosophies can provide radically different views of the same event. This is truer than ever of last week's all-night European summit in Brussels in which leaders tried to find a deal to save the euro.

Eurogeddon has been averted, for the moment at least. Led by Germany and France, the 17 euro-zone members plus nine other members of the European Union have made a pact to deepen economic and fiscal integration with the aim of saving the euro. But it came at the cost of a fundamental split in the EU.